


One Last Goodnight

by casstayinmyass



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Agent Carter (TV) Compliant, Bittersweet Ending, F/M, Feels, Kissing, Mutual Pining, Regrets, Season/Series 02, Spoilers, Very Minor Infidelity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 22:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6060984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casstayinmyass/pseuds/casstayinmyass





	One Last Goodnight

Los Angeles was very different than New York City. The trees were tropical, the water was close and surprisingly nice-looking, and the heat- well, the heat was getting to Peggy, if she was honest. But that wasn't the only thing that was somewhat of a bother... it was the whole Daniel situation.

Well, it wasn't like she had been expecting him to wait for her... of course, a little part of her wished he had.

Peggy blinked, looking out the office window at the dark blue evening sky. She had been forcing that notion out of her head ever since she had seen the ring. She was the one who turned him down. Her fault, no one else's. But that's what made her so bitter- she had no one to blame for it.

She sighed, the air a low wisp escaping her lips. Daniel was just inside his office, putting his papers together. Peggy bit her lip.

 _Should I go in to say goodnight?_ she asked herself tentatively, _or would that just be inviting trouble?_ In the end, she decided to rap lightly on the slightly ajar door, making sure Daniel knew she was there.

"Can I come in?" she asked, a feigned smile on her face as she touched the doorknob.

Daniel looked up, blinking once. "Um... yeah. Yeah, come in, Peg."

Peggy was pleasantly surprised; she had been expecting a "Miss Carter." She closed the door softly, and turned back around to face him.

"I just wanted to say-" Peggy started, but Daniel suddenly cut her off right away.

"I didn't want you to find out like that."

There was thick silence, then Peggy cut through it.

"Well, why not? It's not as if you needed my formally issued permission to propose to someone, Chief Sousa."

Daniel squinted at her. "Why'd you call me that?"

"Hm?"

"Chief Sousa."

Peggy frowned. "That is your title, is it not?"

He sighed. "You're miffed."

"I am not "miffed", not in the slightest!" Peggy quickly informed him, sniffing. Then, as she watched Daniel turn away and look down at the street, she sighed.

"Daniel..." she murmured. He turned. "I feel like I lost something. Another thing, rather. But it was me who did the losing, not you. You don't owe me anything-"

"I know," Daniel muttered.

"-And I feel as if I owe you an explanation," Peggy finished.

"Peg-"

"Let me," she paused him, holding up a finger, "When you asked me to accompany you for drinks, all I heard was Steve asking me to dance."

Daniel nodded, looking down. "I know. You don't have to-"

"Oh for God's sake, will you clam up?" she smirked, and Daniel laughed a little, ducking his head and letting her go on. "Steve is so far in the past now that I rarely even think of him. I still do, but... Daniel, he's a ghost."

Daniel exhaled, his fingers fiddling with the side of his crutch.

"I realized too late," Peggy concluded, voice just above at breathing whisper, "That you weren't the next best thing- you were even better."

Daniel's eyes closed, and he leaned on his crutch a little more. He didn't say anything for a while, but when he did, his voice was cracked.

"Why didn't you follow me?"

"You were in LA," Peggy scoffed, "Back then, even the prospect of going to such a place was off my radar."

Daniel nodded to himself, rubbing his bottom lip, and Peggy shook her head.

"I... I'm sorry. This is unfair of me, you're... you're getting engaged," she said, trying to keep things light and congratulatory. It failed miserably.

"Yeah," Daniel said, "She's a great gal."

"That she is," Peggy affirmed. The two silently looked at each other for a moment, then Daniel stepped forward, cupping Peggy's face and brushing his lips against hers. Peggy let out a gasp, but reciprocated the kiss gently, feeling Daniel's lips envelop her own. The kiss was sweet, lasted longer than it should, and when Daniel pulled back, he looked guilt-ridden and flighty.

"I'm a terrible fiancé," he muttered, and Peggy reached out.

"No, you're simply finishing something you never had the chance to start."

Daniel looked at Peggy long and hard, thinking back to the simpler times when they would work on cases together, right next to each other but never truly. How every gaze Daniel sent her way, Peggy was blind to.

The kiss was torture, but the agent was right- it gave them closure.

"So..." Daniel murmured, gathering up his bag, "You sticking around?"

"I thought not," Peggy replied, drumming her red nails on the wood of the desk, "It would be for the best that I went back to New York, I think."

Daniel nodded, and smiled a little. "See you around, Peg."

Peggy nodded, looking back one last time.

"That you will, Chief Sousa."


End file.
